Robinson Home Products growing after Oneida deal
Robinson Home Products has begun adding jobs tied to a recently completed licensing agreement with Oneida Ltd.
The Cheektowaga-based distributor of kitchen tools and gadgets has added 28 people, bringing the size of its work force to 109, said chief executive officer Robert B. Skerker. The company's plans call for adding about 60 more jobs.
Driving its growth is a 30-year licensing agreement Robinson reached this year with Oneida. Robinson now has exclusive rights to make Oneida brand flatware and dinnerware in all consumer markets in the United States.
Dennis Mullen, chairman and CEO designate of Empire State Development Corp., visited the Walden Avenue offices today to mark the reopening of an adjacent warehouse. The company in 2006 moved its warehousing operations to a site in Buffalo formerly owned by Oneida. Robinson will continue to use that site as well as the Cheektowaga warehouse.
Empire State Development provided Robinson with a $400,000 state grant to help Robinson offset machinery and equipment costs. The company is investing $16.1 million in its business.
Robinson now projects annual sales of $150 million, about double where the company was prior to the Oneida deal, Skerker said.
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